Children's Rights Advocates

The Service & Team:

The Children’s Rights and Safeguarding Standards Service (CRSSS) sits within Children and Family Services and is part of the Together for Families Directorate.

Within the CRSS Service, there are 3 service areas:

1. The Children’s Rights Advocacy Service works to ensure that children’s rights are central to the development and review of Child Protection and Child in Care Plans, and that all professionals work together to improve their outcomes.

2. The LADO Service supports and challenges agencies to work together effectively to safeguard children from the risk of neglect and abuse by professionals, volunteers and those in public office who have direct contact or responsibility for children and young people.

3. Our Safeguarding Children Partnership is supported by the Service in its role of co-ordinating multi-agency work to safeguard and promote the welfare of children across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, and to ensure the effectiveness of what membership organisations do individually and together.

The Role:

Under the leadership and management of the Principal/ Service Manager, Children’s Rights Advocates 

• Ensure that the focus of multi-disciplinary work to help and protect children is focused on the lived experience of the child and the progress they are making to the agreed outcomes

• Ensure the child’s wishes and feelings are at the centre of all involvement with them, and that they are given every opportunity to be heard, and be part of the decisions that affect them

• Ensure that family members and other people who know the child and those who are important to them are involved in the plans for children unless it is unsafe for them to be involved

• Support professionals and agencies to work together effectively to safeguard children and young people 

• Facilitate the meetings where important decisions are made about children such as child protection conferences, children in care/care leaver and adoption reviews. 

• Have an overview of how children and young people are doing between meetings to ensure progress is being made towards positive outcomes 

• Make sure there is not drift and delay in planning for children

• Have a quality assurance role over the quality and impact of social work and multi-agency practice in relation to the protection of children and progress in achieving good outcomes through stability and permanence.

In addition Children's Rights Advocates will lead on:

• Developing social work practice in a specific area of expertise by extending knowledge, skills and learning across the Service 

• Developing wider learning across the partnership by providing practice and/or professional leadership, through the development of research-informed practice, monitoring and quality assurance, and staff development through coaching and mentoring

• Developing their own and wider service knowledge with a view to influence and contribute to the development and review of strategies, policies and practice guidance within the Service and wider partnership 

• Provide consultation either directly or indirectly to staff working with children who are highly vulnerable and experiencing complex situations to provide better outcomes for children

• Developing clear specialisms which link to the overall service objectives.

Providing coaching, mentoring, and supervision as required to colleague throughout the service.

This is a public/customer-facing role, where the statutory English language requirement for public sector workers applies.                     

This position will be subject to a enhanced criminal record disclosure check. 

Working Pattern:

37 hours per week, including some hybrid working and potential consideration for compressed hours. 

What you’ll need to succeed:

• Applied knowledge of relevant legislation, regulations and statutory guidance and national standards relevant to children in need of protection and children in care. Applies in-depth understanding of the role of all agencies in keeping children safe in line with Working Together (2026), Care Act (2014) and the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010

• Ability to provide mentoring and professional consultation to all disciplines within the multi-agency children’s workforce       

• Collaboratively works with all disciplines and agencies to deliver child and outcome focused service

• A proven ability to communicate with children and young people and families

• Ability to critically analyse complex cases and appropriately challenge decisions at all levels 

• Provide constructive criticism, negotiate joint approaches to problems and resolve professional differences

• Contributes to the development of policy, procedure and practice guidance 

• Applied understanding of Ofsted judgement criteria in respect of all aspects of safeguarding

• Applied understanding of contemporary research and models of practice, evidenced through attending relevant and recent training.

• Excellent group facilitation and chairing skills, managing underlying tensions and overt conflict

• Experience of providing professional supervision and support and knowledge of the evidence about what makes for good quality practice in working with children and families 

• Recognised social work qualification equivalent to a minimum of Diploma in Social Work

• Registered as a social work practitioner with the Social Work England 

• Significant working experience in frontline child protection social work services including significant practice in child and/or adult protection/safeguarding

• Evidence of post qualification study/training within their relevant profession to evidence of commitment to continuing professional development

Please read the role profile for the full details of this role attached below in this advert

 What you’ll get in return:

Relocation allowance may be available if the criteria are met. 

Cornwall Council’s ambition is to be an employer of choice, a high performing Council and a learning organisation. We commit to providing a reward and benefits package to attract, motivate and reward our employees. We offer a range of flexible working options to our staff. This helps provide our employees with a greater work/life balance. Whilst still ensuring that service needs are met.

Our core employee rewards and benefits include:

·         a competitive salary.

·         a defined benefit pension scheme, based on your career average earnings. This includes the option for extra voluntary contributions

·         a generous annual leave entitlement with the potential to purchase additional leave.

·         A national award-winning employee health and wellbeing programme

·         Employee benefits scheme giving employees access to a wide range of discounts to local and national goods and services.

Additional Information:

Cornwall Council is unable to offer visa sponsorship or transfer existing sponsorship for this role.

The full role profiles are below: 

Children's Rights Advocate Grade 4

Children's Rights Advocate Grade 5

We recommend saving a copy of this to refer to if you are invited to an interview.

For more information or an informal chat about the role please contact Head of Service - Sarah Thayne (sarah.thayne@cornwall.gov.uk) or Principal Children's Rights Advocate  - Stephanie Thornhill (stephanie.thornhill@cornwall.gov.uk)

Application Process

Please attach a supporting statement to your application, you can add your Education & Qualifications details manually using the application form timeline or you can upload your CV. Remember to demonstrate why you are suitable against each of the points marked as ‘Application’ on the Role Profile using examples from your experience or transferable skills. This might be through qualifications or descriptive examples from your work / personal experience, which clearly illustrates what you did and the effect it had. Guidance on how to complete your application can be found here – The application process.

Please note that applications cannot be edited after they have been submitted, please contact careers@cornwall.gov.uk if you have any queries or require assistance with your application.

Existing employees must apply using their Cornwall Council email address through the Opportunity Marketplace on Oracle.

Cornwall Council deliver services to more than half a million local people and over five million visitors a year. Working here - Cornwall Council

We are happy to talk about flexible working options such as part-time or compressed hours. More examples of our flexible working opportunities can be found here - flexible working options.

Fairness and inclusion are at the heart of our vision for Cornwall. In order to best serve our communities, we are striving to achieve a diverse workforce that is inclusive of all backgrounds, cultures and identities; e.g., race, disability, sex, gender reassignment status, age, religion and sexual orientation. We are an equal opportunities and Disability Confident employer, and we will assess applicants on their merits.

Cornwall Council is committed to safeguarding and following safer recruitment principles to help make sure our staff and volunteers are suitable to work with children, young people and adults at risk. It’s a vital part of creating a safe and positive environment and making a commitment to keeping all service users safe from harm.